Hey Ladies.

(Though I’m almost ashamed to admit it now) In my teens and early twenties, I took great pride in being that kind of girl who always had waaay more guy friends than girl friends. I had my one best friend, Katy, and a couple of other close gal pals plucked from high school and college, but *most* of my friends were guys. And I always said that a little smugly, right, because you think it makes you sound cool and less prissy and like you’re more of a catch. Girls are dumb, I’d mumble, pairing it with an eye-roll. Because I wasn’t, like, a *regular* girl…I was a *cool girl*; The kind of girl who didn’t go in for drama and wasn’t high maintenance and knew how to take a dirty joke and give one back and basically did all the non-girly cool-girl things that I could think of to make guys like me more because sometimes that’s just what you do in your teens and early twenties, whether you realize it or not.

And then, because I was lucky, I started meeting some super hot babes – like these girls right here – who taught me the value of cultivating female friendships. Rich, nourishing, deep soul stuff with kindred spirits always does the trick. And now I am a Grade A, 100%, All The Way Girl’s Girl. I still like my menz frenz, but it was women who taught me to stop accepting less than the best for myself; women who taught me that it’s totally okay to shout “fuck OFF!” at the guy at the bar who won’t leave you alone; women who taught me that it’s very necessary to be totally honest about who I am and what I like and what I don’t and to stand up for it when it counts; women who taught me that it’s important to stay engaged in politics and social issues and charitable causes because you need to know what other people are talking about even if it doesn’t inherently interest you (because it could still affect you, whether you want it to or not); women who taught me that we are divine and magical and so, so powerful.

Since I was young, I’ve often thought that one of the reasons why men have repeatedly and systematically tried to strip women of their rights and autonomy through the ages was because they realized from the start just how easily women could rule the world if given the chance. (And even just *saying* that will threaten a male somewhere, which is hilarious and ridiculous and also please go get some counseling). I mean, we grow fucking PEOPLE. In our BODIES. That is CRAZY. We are fucking radical beings, ladies. We are sources of Divine energy, givers of life, caretakers and founders and leaders and lovers and first believers.

Happy International Women’s Day, babes. I hope you celebrate by buying some birth control or registering to vote or applying for a kick-ass job or buying some real estate or brushing up on politics or going out in public unescorted by a male or going to church while you’re on your period or riding a bike in pants or any other of the 100 million things we had to fight to be able to do!

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About Amber L.

Hi! I'm Amber. I've been telling stories with books and blogs since 2004. I also spent 10 years working as a behavior therapist, which I now put to proper use by publishing thought pieces and dissertations on '80s pop music and the defining TV shows of our current times ('The Bachelor', 'Vanderpump Rules', etc). I can also be credited with single-handedly ruining the city of Portland, OR just by moving here.

Telling stories with books and blogs since 2004. I also spent 10 years working as a behavior therapist, which I now put to proper use by publishing thought pieces and dissertations on '80s pop music and the defining TV shows of our current times ('The Bachelor', 'Vanderpump Rules', etc). I do this all in the city of my heart, Minneapolis, MN.

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